Training for the Richmond 8k (2013)

If you haven't noticed from the increase in running posts lately, even after the Charlottesville Women's 4 Miler, I'm training for another race. On November 16th, Richmond will host a marathon, half-marathon, and 8k. Joey is doing the half-marathon, which will be his second. I decided to sign up for the 8k (5 miles). I like having a purpose to my running, so I looked around for a training plan. I decided to do Runkeeper's 10k training plan - this is a training plan I've started and stopped a few times now, since doing my first (and only) 10k last spring. I decided to modify it slightly, mostly since the race date is before the 16 week training plan ends. Since I can already run 5 miles, I chose this plan since it will push me a little harder, which will hopefully improve my overall pace and endurance. I have my modified plan below, in case anyone is interested in trying it out. This plan requires 4 days a week of running (albeit some are light days), so I'm definitely not going to be able to do all of it. It's just nice having a set structure to my running, and include different tempo runs so I'm not doing the same thing every time. My plan is to continue the training plan once I complete the 5 miler, and hopefully find a 10k to do soon after.

Ab Class + KB Workout + 2 mile jog

I had a big day at the gym on Sunday. I was scheduled to run 2 miles for my training plan (actually I was supposed to do 2 miles on Saturday and 4 on Sunday, but I switched since the weather on Saturday was fantastic). There was also a 30 minute class at the AFC that I really wanted to try out - it's called Hard CORE, and this is what it promises to do:
Challenge your abdominals, back, and hips in this dynamic and intense workout. Learn to effectively strengthen the core using proper form and technique!

I also realized that I couldn't do KB on Monday, since I had something scheduled until 7, and really didn't want to start that late. I decided I would do everything on Sunday, since I would already be at the AFC. My plan was to do the 30 minute class, jog one of the miles on the indoor track, do 2 sets of KBs, then finish with 1 more mile on the track. Splitting up the running made it a lot easier, and made it so I wasn't too tired for any one part of the workout.

By the time I finished, it was almost 5:00, and I still had to go to the grocery store. I got home around 6 and was just completely beat. Next time I will remember to eat more prior to a big workout like that.

Anyway, here's what I did!

The 30 minute class was great. It got way more crowded than I expected - I guess I thought that all of the undergrads would be out doing fun things. The class looked like a sorority - everyone was wearing sports bras covered by those big loose tank tops where you can see the girl's stomach through the arm holes - since when did those become a thing? Besides that, the class was really good. It was definitely hard - I am super sore today. I liked that it wasn't just abs, that we did things for our back, as well as some upper and lower body exercises. There were a lot of plank variations, as well as a lot of leg lifts. I'm going to plan on doing it every Sunday I don't have plans - it's just a half hour, and was very effective.

I'm really glad I split up the running. It was really easy doing just one mile at a time, and it helped loosen up my legs. I did the first mile in ~10:15, and the second mile in just under 10 minutes.

For KB, I decided to do two cards. The workouts Joey comes up with are usually much harder than the cards, so I figured this would be a good time to ease back a little. I think I've officially moved up to the 25lb KB. I was able to do everything with that weight, except for just a couple exercises. I can't do get ups with that weight, and I keep forgetting to bring a lighter KB, so I just did russian twists instead. I also can't do windmills with that weight, so I just did them without any weight at all. They're still pretty effective without weight if you do them really slow and controlled.

I don't have any heart rate monitor data since I couldn't find it at the time. After I got back from the run on Saturday, I remembered taking it off, removing the actual monitor from the strap, and hanging it somewhere. 10 minutes later, when I was about to get in the shower, I looked for it so I could wash it. Couldn't find it anywhere. Still couldn't find it on Sunday, when I was going to bring it with me to the gym. It wasn't until I got back from the gym that I found it, and almost immediately. 

4+ mile run in Charlottesville

The weather this morning was perfect for a run. I was pretty tired last night, and just passed out around midnight. I slept until a little past 8 (yay no alarm) and decided to take advantage of getting up early, and go for the run then. It was only going to keep getting warmer outside. The temperature was just below 60 when I left, and it felt really nice in the shade. I wore my new Cville Women's 4 Miler shirt, and my favorite shorts from Old Navy, and took off on a route I've done many times before. The past few times I've done the route, I've made it shorter by cutting out the part on the downtown mall, or by turning onto Grady from Rugby. I wanted to make it a full 4 miles, and in order to do this, the loop was closer to 4.5 miles. I figured I could walk the last part if I needed to. My legs were really tired during the uphills, but once I started going back downhill I got into a nice groove, and kept going even once I heard the 4 mile notification. Overall it felt really good. I went at a pretty easy pace, and pushed it a little toward the end at the last little hill. The only problem is thinking about future runs on this training plan - it's hard to imagine doing more than 6 miles at the pace I was going, even though I was taking it pretty easy. Hopefully by the time I get there (I think in 3 weeks), I'll be more ready for it. I'll also have to think about easing back on my pace - it feels like I'm going pretty slow, but I'm sure I can be going even slower than that.

Heart Rate Monitor:
Duration: 0:47:48
Calories Burned: 560
Average Heart Rate: 170 (88.1% of max)
Max Heart Rate: 182 (94.3% of max)
Time in Zone (65-85%): 0:10:10